Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that six Great Neck North High School students had paid 19-year-old Samuel Eshaghoff thousands of dollars to take the SAT for them. Eshaghoff, who graduated from the high school in 2010 and is currently enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta, was paid between $1,500 and $2,500 per student.

So has the recession not hit Long Island? Who has this kind of disposable income these days, much less a group of kids? Or are these 15, 16 year olds also knocking over banks? Or is it more likely that their parents are completely a) snowed by their little darlings; b) guilty that their own precious careers are taking them away from what they should be paying attention to, raising their children correctly instead of an army of assistants and nannies; c)tossing their ill gotten gains at their progeny rather than actually dealing with them; d) hobbling their blessed issue for life by not teaching them any life skills about the value of money and therefore almost guaranteeing they will end up broke, bankrupt, in jail or all three by age forty?

This notion that these kids are "under so much pressure to perform" is a crock, particularly when their immediate solution seemed to be to whip out their personal black Amex from Pops to take care of the problem. They didn't hire a tutor or buckle down or ask for help in any way, they felt entitled to circumvent the system.

Their teachers had their number already so they needed a good SAT score to override those mistakes. They also figure Daddy's money might help with the rest of the college application process. So all that stood between them and four/five years of serious partying, all on the parents' tab, was the SAT.

So they clearly saw this scam as a worthwhile investment. What is tragic about this is that these are probably pretty smart kids who if they only applied their plotting and scheming skill sets for good rather than evil, could probably be quite successful.

But the Entitlement Generation wants it all, right now, without the effort that it requires. What a waste.

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Entitlement Generation caught with hand in the SAT cookie jar., 9.2 out of 10 based on 40 ratings

This fellow Eshagoff must be nothing short of a wizard! He had to fluctuate these test SAT answers in such a way to not draw attention considering he took this test for six different people. Obviously, he worked out a system that varied the correct answers and wrong answers to differentiate between students. If these students were all in the same class, which probably isn’t likely, it would have been even more difficult, unless of course, we’re all willing to believe that the professors involved in scoring, were all dense. These SAT tests are not easy and require study and thought which obviously these students weren’t willing to endure.

It’s true that the majority of these kids just want to party and have wasted their parents time and money going to college, but I’d need a lot more evidence for me to believe that Mom and Dad willing participated. More than likely these kids lied about what they needed the money for, or perhaps they had a little nest egg set aside for them by their parents or grandparents which is not exactly out of the norm. In any case, I’d say that the kids and Eshagoff are the real culprits and until proven otherwise, I’d accuse them all of being the only origin of this scheming enterprise.

Of course, if these SAT tests were taken during any period of time before admission, and were scored by someone other than the College Board, I guess Eshagoff had a much easier time. Anything’s possible in this day and age.

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Comment by schoolboardlady September 28, 2011 @ 1:59 pm

First I would not doubt if parent collaborated. I lived for many years in a neighborhood such as Great Neck and this does not shock me.
Second, some kids are really good at these tests (Eshaghoff) and would have no problem acing them repeatedly. Since versions of the test vary greatly from administration to next administration (and even within each administration), he would not be in danger of answering “identically” thus tipping off the testing police.
IN areas where hundreds are spent on test prep, spending just as much (or less) on outright “hiring” a test taker really is not outlandish (from a financial cost -benefit perspective). The fact that it is illegal, cheating etc., is another whole issue. Kids (and parents) know that the test really does not predict if you will ‘stay in” the college, even a highly selective one, to which you are admitted. Tests really are a rationing device. Is it likely the kids will crack down and study…and stay in the school to which they have faked an application? What do you think?

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Comment by newsjunky September 28, 2011 @ 3:32 pm

In regards to parents collaborating, I didn’t want to give the impression that it doesn’t happen, but I would have to have more evidence than the article suggests. The writer just gave a list of possibilities which weren’t far fetched by any means, but I’d need concrete evidence first, as I know what these kids are capable of doing, as I’m sure you are as well.

Although, the tests do vary and Eshagoff could probably ace all of them with his eyes closed, it’s very easy to get over confident and mess up somewhere, some way. Although, the article doesn’t give too much information about how this came to light, it’s possible that someone caught on, or perhaps Eshagoff was dissed by one of the students.

In regards to the kids “cracking down,” some of them do if they don’t get involved with the wrong crowd, and others just party their lives away at the expense of their parents and eventually themselves.

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Comment by RW September 28, 2011 @ 1:08 pm

Sigh…this is the only kind of entrepreneur that can afford to go into business, these days other than selling dope…

Unfortunately with the drop in teaching morals and ethics, students at all levels think and/or practice cheating, show disrespect to teachers and other students, and just want rewards with no effort. Most should not even be in college for lack of ability and capacity. Then, of course, some states like CA want to reward illegals with college education at taxpayer costs, so even more less qualified students will be in college and that brings down further the quality of education in this country. Thank goodness for private and charter schools! Nevertheless, our students today are so much less educated that we have to bring in workers from other countries to do the really intricate and cool stuff! I was fortunate to have gotten an outstanding education on scholarships with outstanding grades at private schools, which was great because I came from a poor and large family who couldn’t have afforded tuition, AND I worked as well for uniforms and books.

Agree this kid must be a genius. It’s actually quite funny how he played the system and made money out of this venture.

Considering where it happened I tend to agree that the kids used their own money that the parents gave them for spending money. To most of us that’s a fair amount of money. To the people who live there that’s chicken feed.

Comment made about bringing in foreign students to do the tricky stuff. Many of our best doctors here in San Antonio are foreigners. Some are recognized as being the best in their field for this area. And we have very good medical care here so that’s saying something. My pain doctor and his wife (a top colon specialist) are both from India and are awesome. My GF’s heart doctor is from Pakistan. His wife also from Pakistan is also a heart surgeon. Our own people seem to have a problem reaching many of these goals that the foreigners are doing well at.

It does seem that over time the morals of kids taking the SAT have changed, and the testing conditions, and grading of tests have also changed.

At age 14 I took the old SAT and it was graded by proctors, etc. at the school within a day or two of the actual test. Then, though the 450 or so juniors and seniors who took the SAT at that time were known from their school records, yet we still had to present some form of ID to enter the testing room and take the test
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